hi i was fitting a set of locking nuts yesterday and whilst removing one of the standard nuts tuner type with a key it rounded off !! leaving me unable to remove it. will a garage be able to remove this without damaging the wheel or will i be able to get it off myself?
ian

 

Firstly, I feel for you - rounded bolts and nuts are a *******!

Bearing in mind that I'm not a mechanic, but more of a home-bodger, here are some things you could try:

1. Lots of wd40 over a couple of days so that it has time to seep through the thread and then use a hex shaped socket. Hopefully this should work, maybe try it in conjunction with number 3 below.

2. Weld a separate nut on top of the rounded off one (make sure it's centered, otherwise it wont work). Weld it "in the hole", so to speak

3. Heat the nut up with something. This will cause it to expand and hopefully it will break the bond between the nut and the stud. Don't do this immediately after spraying wd40 on it, as it may ignite

4. You could try to create a groove in the top of the bolt with e.g. a dremel or something so that you can use a hammer and chisel to punch it out hopefully. I.e, create a groove and then start trying to rotate the bolt by hitting it off center with the chisel and hammer. Definitely use in conjunction with point 2.

5. If the above doesn't help, you could always get a set of drills and drill the stud out, but then you have to replace it which is also a pain

All of the above should be possible without damaging the wheel (if you don't over-do it with the heat)

 

thanks for the advice
it really p****d me off when it did it !they must be cheap nuts and key that came with the wheels!
needednt have bothered buying the locking nuts if they were gonna round off themselves!
has anyone tried the replacemnts form revolution as i dont have an faith in the ones that are on now?
ian

 

You can buy a tool for the job,(franklin ft702) which will remove all wrecked wheel nuts/studs (that we have tried anyway) we use it regularly.
Most places that sell tools will have one.
HTH

 

do you have any pics of it ive never seen anything like that before?
whats the best place to buy them any names?

 

Hope this works.

 

cheers wheelshop! so i take it it goes over the nut and grips it when you try to undo it?
thanks ian

 

Yeah left hand thread, tap it on and use a 1/2" drive to remove or airgun if you have one

 

cool might be woth buying one incase one of the others go! will try to find a supplier
thanks

 

Halfords sell a similar thing in a set of 3 iirc for removing ##### nuts..